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OiFuto 1, Sat 4th April.
 BFC vs. the Swiss in the quarterfinals of the Cup , a quality match up of the top of the league side vs. a potent (yet inconsistent) Swiss side. The result was was an intense game with numerous chances but solid defending and goal keeping meant a lone mistake would cost the match. The lineups at the start were a bit of a surprise with the BFC missing their captain Jon, big Al, and Shosuke yet their replacements were some awfully young players from Carlos' stable in Chofu . As the game started you saw little drop in quality and the youngsters' speed was clearly advantage. The Swiss had recalled old boys Krando and Graeme Mac. in defense (due to lack of options) while new boys Michael and Watanabe were called in to stabilize the midfield, unfortunately the former would only last for 15 minutes as a rolled ankle did him in. The remainder were pretty much the same old Swiss so any outsider looking in had to fancy the BFC's chances on the day as both team's results over the past 2 years have shown the gap between them becoming a chasm as the Swiss whither.
 The game started quickly with the BFC pressing in midfield and showing their intent with some dangerous crosses into the box. The Swiss were still trying to figure out where everyone should go and didn't show much until a real moment of quality surprised everyone. Suzuki to Watanabe, a first time long ball across the field to Aoki on the right , he volleyed it back into the path of an overlapping Michael who volleyed it first time and it looped over the out-rushing keeper. A quality move finished off with aplomb to give the Swiss a 1-0 lead. Honestly, one of the best goals I have ever seen in the Tokyo league in 17 years. Quick change of directcion, left to right, supporting run from the midfield and 3 one touches going from midfield to the top of the box with a classy finish - that's the way the game is played! Even ex- Grampus Eight man Arsene Wenger would have applauded the execution. Who knows why he moved on to England!
 The goal seemed to give the Swiss a little confidence and the movement and passing improved after that - unfortunately, Michael went down soon after with ligament problems and JP replaced him. The BFC though continued to press though and were always dangerous with their runs from midfield as the Swiss had trouble tracking back. Fortunately, Seiji, Raffa, Krando, and Graeme were solid and most runs were eventually snuffed out. The Swiss, on one of their few counters into the BFC area, saw Suzuki overlap and pick up a pass from Aoki, he centered in for Kirk who was waiting but Pablo cut in front to try and head it away and scored a brilliant own goal with a cracker past his own keeper. Kirk would have knocked it over so he was grateful and the Swiss were now on top 2-0!
Clearly, the BFC needed to raise the intensity and the burden fell mostly on Carlos' shoulders as he was controlling the midfield. There were a few ventures into the box and crosses did have more purpose but if the defense didn't stop them, the imposing Sascha (new Peter look alike) was awesome in goal - had a great day with the highlight being a great save when Evans had pierced the defense with only the keeper to beat. However, the BFC did show their quality when Carlos' free kick from about 25 meters out went into the 6 yard box, was met first time by one of the attackers but the first shot was saved, unfortunately the rebound fell right back to him and he knocked it in for a 2-1 score line. That was going to be the way it ended but there were some highlights the rest of the way.
Due to the intensity of the match, some weird things happened as well. The first of the big injuries on the day happened when the BFC's left midfielder challenged Yan for a high ball and came away with his lip cut open - the ambulance was called and he was taken away for stitching. In the 2H, the Swiss center back Raffa was challenging Gen for a ball as he retreated but Gen stepped on his foot and it looked like he broke his toe, another trip to the hospital - fortunately it only turned out to be dislocated at a 45 degree angle. Then, as the game wore down with 10 minutes to go, Gen again was the crusher as an elbow flew into Kirk's nose and broke it quite easily - blood poured out. After about 5 minutes it stopped and he played out the match but the trip to the hospital came later and confirmed another deformity in the big man's beak.
This all came during a tight 2H with the BFC pressing for the equalizer but with the defense tight and clearing things long making the occasional counter attack quite dangerous. The BFC did hit the cross bar following a corner kick while the Swiss did have an incredible miss with Philipp going wide from about 2 meters out. Carlos had a solid shot saved by Sascha while Aoki could have done better when free alone with the keeper only to completely mis-trap the ball inside the box. It was a quality match with a lot of side notes but the Swiss move on to the semis. It will be an interesting draw but if you had to put money on it - wouldn't you think the organizer (and his team Sala) would pit themselves against the YCAC 2nds? It is up to them to make it not happen.
Report by Cap'n Kirk
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